Run, Run, as Fast as You Can
by Kelmzie
Summary: This is basically a MUCH revised story of the first few chapters of "Blood Traitor," except without the vampires. I had to write a short story for my English class this year, and this is what I have come up with.


Run, Run, as Fast as You Can

The trees tread past at a speed that didn't even seem possible, smearing and disfiguring everything surrounding me. My feet collided with the unsteady earth powerfully as I sped along the narrow path with lethargic legs. I wanted to stop running – no, I needed to stop running – if only to obstruct my beating heart from bursting out of my chest at a thousand miles per hour; but I just couldn't stop. If I stopped now, that thing, whoever or _what_ever it was, would be on me like a pack of starving animals at half-past dinner time – and something was telling me that I wouldn't be their dinner guest.

Even though my heart needed a pause and my breath had long ago dissipated, running like this felt effortless, almost like I was gliding over the stones and dirt instead of the usual blundering that is my normal movement. I barely noticed the tree roots climbing out of the ground, trying to make me stumble so that I would plunge, crashing down into the path where the beast would surely annihilate me before I could spring back up.

No, the only thing that I really noticed was the sound of someone, or something, bounding after me through the dense trees; crushing leaves and cracking branches; smashing foliage and pulverizing vegetation. It was too smart to pursue me on the path, too wise to do something as ludicrous as showing its visage. Whatever it was, it was far too intelligent to make any simple-minded mistakes.

I advanced through the forest – seemingly travelling nowhere because the passage obviously had no end; it must have been some sort of mind-control game to make me believe that I even had the slightest chance of making my way out alive. There were only a plethora of trees – trees and trees galore – all around, with nowhere to flee but forwards or backwards. There was nowhere to hide, either, because as soon as I stepped off the trail, the beast would surely devour me right then and there. Why was it hunting me? And more importantly, _what_ was hunting me? Millions of different possibilities rushed through my mind, but no probability seemed as bad as running for one's life, with nowhere to turn to, no way to protect oneself.

Without any warning at all, searing pain shot through my left calf like an extraordinarily dull knife cutting through flesh. I shrieked in agony, seizing my leg with both arms and plummeting to the earth. I twisted and twirled through the dirt, finally coming to a very abrupt end by buffeting right into a tree. The affliction in my leg, and now my head, was pulsating and considerably too much to attempt to stand up and run away again. Besides, I no longer heard the pounding thuds of the beast close behind me.

My shallow, labored breathing was sonorous and distracting to my concentration of the harmony of pursuing feet obliterating leaves and sprigs in the darkness beyond the trail. But as soon as I was able to catch my breath and observe the atmosphere for any signs of danger, I heard it. Other, more stabilized breathing reverberated off the saplings and shrubs.

My eyes grew practically to the size of dinner plates. My spine stiffened, my ears became alert, and my nose snuffed the air for the whiff of anything foul. My arms were lifted over my head, covering my neck, protecting myself, positioned like a child during a tornado drill in elementary school. I was lying on the ground in this condition, tears streaming from my eyes and down my cheeks, landing wetly on the ground.

Why? Why was this thing chasing me? Why was it doing this? What did I ever do to deserve such a thing? Why did it just stand there and do nothing, instead of eating me? What was it waiting for? Why wouldn't it just end this game of cat and mouse and put me out of my misery already? These were all questions that were churning through my brain as I quivered on the ground, weeping.

After what felt like an eternity, I slowly, leisurely turned my head to the left, just enough so that I could scrutinize this monster out of the corner of my eye. What I perceived terrified me almost more than any barbarian could have. Standing within inches of my face, wriggling its tail happily and snuffling me, was a humble, defenseless _rabbit._

I exhaled an elongated wheeze; I had been holding my own breath since I first heeded the sounds of this rabbit. I turned around more fully so that I was about-face with the rabbit and placed myself on the ground in front of him. Maybe he was the only thing that seemed to be chasing me through the forest all along. I was probably just paranoid, having seen far too many horror movies in my time. This thought reassured me and I calmed myself down, allowing my arm to extend and stroke the bunny on the nose. He was a rather cute animal, really. I couldn't believe I had been so frightened of such a friendly, little thing all this time.

A deep, forceful growl rang out of the darkness beyond the trees. The rabbit's ears perked up to attention at sound of the growl. He rubbed his face against my out-stretched arm before hopping past me a few feet. Then he paused, turned around and took another look at me, then hopped away in the direction we had just come, back through the forest, and into the danger-zone. He was going to fall right into the beast's trap.

I was terrified for the rabbit, but knew that I had to keep moving or the animal would soon have me caught next. I pushed myself off the earth and stood on faltering legs. Another growl exploded from inside the forest, an alarmed squeal sounding immediately afterwards. So the beast had found the poor little bunny, and had made him its appetizer. Beast: 1, civilization: 0. I started walking forward, and soon broke into an all-out run. I bounded ahead as I heard the percussion of trees and leaves behind me. I twisted my head as to determine the cause of the commotion, only to see the fiend racing after me on the path rather than staying hidden.

The savage was gargantuan. It seemed to be some sort of mutant, a tie between a werewolf and a mammoth. I had absolutely no idea what this barbarian could be. I began to run more quickly, the sight of the beast driving myself ahead, fueling me and giving me more motivation to keep going, no matter how much I wished to stop. The barbarian leisurely galloped along behind me, even though it could have had me a long time ago if it had wanted to. But of course, beasts just love their little games, now don't they?

Suddenly, the toe of my boot hit caught on something heavy and bulging, sticking out of the ground. I was sent into the air, toppling head-first, and landing on the ground, once again producing a loud thump. A stubborn tree root had made me lose my balance this time, my shin grazing against the earth, a large laceration forming along the edge of my leg. The beast, now directly behind me, sniffed the air and its eyes grew larger as it scented the blood flowing from my cut. The beast let out one last, triumphant roar before it pounced. Beast: 2, civilization: 0.


End file.
